What Could've Been
by MusicAngel98
Summary: We all saw that moment of hesitation in Belle when the Beast set her free. What would've happened if she had realized she loved him then? How would the story end? **I do not own Beauty & the Beast or its characters; all rights go to their respective owners**


**Hey! I am back with another Beauty & the Beast one-shot! I've been hit with a writing bug and I am so happy about it! I absolutely adore writing for these two! I have another idea that I am writing also but I want to make that one absolute and utter fluff so I'm going to post this one first! **

**Anyways, this story is based on the 2017 version (which most of them will be) and that moment of hesitation I know we all saw in Belle when Beast set her free. This is based on what I think would've happened if she had figured out she loved him and admitted it (even to herself) then. Now, I've wasted too much space on this A/N so let's get to the story! Enjoy!**

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Belle's eyes widened in fear as she looked at the mirror. "Papa!" She gasped. Beast looked at her with concern in his blue eyes "What are they doing to him? He's in trouble!" Her hands began shaking with panic over her father.

Beast looked at the rose where only a single petal remained. They would only have tonight. But looking at Belle's frantic eyes and worried expression, he made his choice. "Then you must go to him." He said quietly.

Her head snapped to look at him in shock. "What did you say?" She asked.

Beast reluctantly turned to look at her, the brunette beauty who held his heart in her hands and the one he could never have. "You must go to him." He repeated. "No time to waste." Belle looked from him to the mirror, as if she was making the most important decision of her life. She stepped forward and tried to give him the mirror but he gently returned it to her hands. "Take it with you." He allowed himself a small smile. "So you'll always have a way to look back on me."

Belle gave him a shaky smile in return, taking a few steps back. "Thank you." She said breathlessly. He merely nodded in response. She turned to leave but stopped for a second, turning back to face him. She had so much to say to him but couldn't think of the right way to say it. She rushed out of the West Wing, not even bothering to change out of her ballgown as she went outside to the stables. Quickly climbing onto Phillippe, she urged him to a run. She spared a glance towards the West Wing tower as they neared the gates. "I'll come back to you." She whispered to the air. "I'll always come back to those I love." Maybe when she returned, she would have the courage to say those words to him.

If she had turned back, she would've seen the winter snow melting and the castle rebuilding itself to its true glory.

The wind whipped through her hair, the cold air stinging her face but after what felt like an eternity, she made it to the village. She heard an all-too-familiar voice yell out, "Take him away!" _Gaston,_ She thought, her teeth gritting. _I should've known._

She heard the neigh of horses and urged Phillippe onwards. "Stop!" She shouted, forcing the asylum's driver to pull his horses back, halting the cart that had her father. She swung herself off Phillippe and rushed to the small window in the back. She saw her father reach for her hand through the bars. "Papa!"

"Oh, Belle." He breathed, "I thought I lost you."

"Let him out." She pleaded with the asylum master, "He's hurt."

The asylum master gave her a blank stare. "We can't do that, miss but we'll take very good care of him." Belle had the urge to slap him across the face.

"My father's not crazy." She defended. She turned to her last resort. "Gaston, tell him."

The war captain gave her what he thought was a sympathetic smile. "You know how loyal I am to your family but your father has been making some unbelievable claims." Belle's hands fisted around her skirts and the mirror in her hands.

"Wait!" A voice spoke up from the crowd. Belle turned to see Jean step out, a distant look in his eyes. "Maybe Belle's right. I'm starting to remember a castle. My wife worked in one."

Belle's eyes widened, she saw glimpses of sweet Mrs. Potts. She was one of the few in the castle who seemed to be married. Could it be possible… "I remember one too." The woman who tossed her laundry into the streets spoke. "I had a husband who worked in a castle for a prince. I haven't seen him in years though."

More and more people in the mob started murmuring to themselves, all their memories of the castle, its workers, and a prince suddenly becoming revealed. "It doesn't matter if there is a castle!" Gaston shouted, silencing the villagers. "He was still raving on about a beast who took you prisoner." Belle felt a stab in her heart as she thought of her Beast. "And you have no proof that a creature like that exists."

"You want proof?" She spat. She looked at the mirror. "Show me the Beast." In a flash, she saw the Beast she had left behind but swore to come back to. She displayed it to the villagers who gasped and took a step back in fear. "There's your proof."

Gaston gritted his teeth and snatched the mirror from her. "Sorcery." He hissed. "Look at this beast. Look at his fangs!" He showed the mirror again, making the villagers cower. "His claws!"

"No, don't be afraid!" Belle attempted to soothe the crowd. "He's gentle and kind." _And the one I love_ Belle thought to herself.

Gaston looked to her and pointed to her accusingly. "The monster has her under his spell!" Belle clenched her fists so tightly, her nails dug into her palm. "If I didn't know better, I'd say she even cared for him!" The villagers gasped at the notion.

"He's not the monster, Gaston." She said through clenched teeth. "You are!" The villagers looked at her in shock. No one had ever said something like that towards Gaston. She turned to the crowd. "The Beast wouldn't hurt anyone."

"I've heard of the effects of dark magic but never before seen it with my own eyes!" Gaston whipped towards the crowd. "This is a threat to our very existence!" The villagers let out a rallying cry. Belle felt her heart plummet.

The sound of thundering hoofbeats drew their attention. The villagers gasped as a man rode up on a white stallion. "Except that so-called 'threat' no longer exists." He said in a commanding tone. Belle looked at the man curiously. He had long honey blonde hair tied neatly away from his face and was even more handsome than Gaston. Belle felt as though she had seen him somewhere before.

The villagers started murmuring to themselves as he climbed down from his horse. When they realized who this was they all bowed and curtsied before him. "Prince Adam." Gaston gasped hoarsely. He quickly bowed stiffly towards the royal.

"There's no need for all of that." The Prince said and they all stood upright. Belle felt her throat tighten when he walked towards her. She quickly ducked her head and bent into a deep curtsy. Her curiosity was peaked when she felt his fingers under her chin, gently lifting her up. Even standing, she avoided his gaze at all costs. "Belle." He said softly.

She sucked in a sharp breath. "How do you know my name… your Highness?" She asked quietly.

"Belle, I beg you to meet my eyes for a second." He said, ignoring her question. "Please."

She lifted her gaze to his eyes and felt a jolt go through her. Those eyes. The eyes that had captured hers in the ballroom what seemed like years ago but was just a mere few hours. The eyes that sparked with life when they read together in the castle library. The eyes of her Beast. She reached a shaking hand forward and cupped his cheek as if to just confirm that what she was seeing was real. "It's… you." She said, her voice cracking.

His face split into a smile hearing that. He took her hand on his cheek and kissed her palm lovingly, sending tingles throughout Belle's entire body. He squeezed her hand before turning on the asylum master with a glare that would make a lion quiver. "Now release that man this instant or you will find yourself one of your own prisoners." He demanded.

The asylum master, white as a sheet, nodded and unlocked the wagon. Belle rushed to help her father down, the two embracing the minute he had his footing. "Oh Belle, thank goodness you're okay." Maurice told her.

"I'm better than okay, Papa." Belle smiled. They hugged once more.

Maurice saw Adam approaching them and bowed respectfully. "I should be the one showing you respect, Monsieur." Adam commented. Maurice raised an eyebrow. "I cannot express how sorry I am for all that I did to you while in my… form." Maurice's eyes widened.

"You mean to say you…" He trailed off.

Adam nodded. "My staff was right to treat you the way they did. I was the naïve one for punishing you simply because you wanted to give your incredible daughter a gift. Which reminds me." Belle and her father raised an eyebrow as they watched him go to his horse and pull something out of the saddle bag. Belle's smile grew when they saw a white rose edged with frost. He handed it to Maurice. "You made a promise to her and I hope that this will at least begin to make up for what I've done to both of you."

Maurice gaped, looking from the rose to the prince and back again. "Thank you, your Highness." He finally uttered before handing the rose to Belle.

"Please call me Adam." He dismissed, locking his blue eyes with Belle's brown ones. A blush tinted her cheeks. He reluctantly broke the gaze and turned back to the crowd. "I'm sure you all by now remember myself and my castle in the forest. For those who have family or friends working as my staff, you will be reunited with them as soon as possible. It is my hope now that I can atone for the sins my younger self foolishly made in the name of vanity and materialism." He looked to Belle with a smile. "With Belle's aid, I was able to see the error of my ways and will be working tirelessly to make life better for all of you and be the ruler you need me to be." He turned to Gaston with a glare. "As for you, Captain…"

He was stilled with Belle's hand on his arm. She looked up at him with pleading eyes. "Don't do something you might regret. Please."

He gave her a small smile. "I've done many things I regret, but this will not be one of them." He stepped towards Gaston, the war captain returning his glare with equal force. "I would like to know what gives you the right to sentence an innocent man to a madhouse when you have clearly been proven wrong."

Gaston shrugged with a small smirk. "I felt it was best for our village. Because of this curse, none of us knew of your castle which lead me to believe Maurice was speaking nonsense." He explained smugly. "I was under the assumption that he could become a danger to Belle and those around him."

Adam could see Belle's grip on the rose tightening and raised an eyebrow at the smaller man shuffling his feet behind Gaston. The prince raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure that's the only reason?" He questioned.

Gaston nodded, silently. "He wanted to marry Belle." LeFou final spoke up. Gaston looked to his sidekick in shock. Belle smiled at LeFou as he stepped forward to address Adam. "Your Highness, Gaston wanted to use Maurice's incarceration as blackmail to get Belle's hand in marriage because she had denied him before, multiple times."

Adam's eyes flashed with the anger she saw the first day they met. Before either man could say anything, she reached forward and took Adam's hand, lacing their fingers together and shocking the crowd. Maurice's eyes widened for a moment before a small smile graced his lips. Belle looked at Adam the same way his wife used to look at him and Adam looked at her the way he suspected he looked at his wife. The two were in love. Obviously, they had not confessed to each other yet, but anyone with eyes could see the truth. Even when he was in the body of a beast, Belle had learned to love him.

"Adam, please." She pleaded softly. "LeFou was right. I refused Gaston multiple times before I met you. And now that I have met you…" She trailed off, squeezing his hand. Gaston's fists clenched at the sight of their interaction. "There's no one else I would say yes to." Every villager's eyes widened. "I realized before I left the castle that I had so much I wanted to say to you and I promised myself I would before I even reached the gates…"

"That's why." He said quietly, cutting her off. She raised an eyebrow at him. "When you promised to confess what you felt towards me before you left the castle grounds, even if I didn't hear it, that must've been what broke the curse!"

"What do you mean?" Belle asked. "Mrs. Potts and the others said there was nothing I could do."

"Nothing that could be forced." He clarified. "The curse would only be broken if I found someone to love me even in my beastly form and love them in return."

It took all of Belle's restraint not to drop her jaw right then. "Does that mean…" She trailed off, not knowing how to put it into words.

"Yes, Belle. I love you too." He said with a smile that could light all of Paris. He raised her hand, kissing her knuckles while she remained utterly speechless at the fact that she had fallen in love with a prince… and that he loved her as well. He turned to Gaston who was practically seething with anger. "Captain, I would suggest one of two options. Move on and accept that Belle will never marry you or leave the village, never showing your face here again. I don't think I need to tell you which is my preference but either way, I believe it's blatantly clear that you've lost and should accept your fate as such."

Belle smiled. She didn't want Adam to stop to Gaston's level. She didn't want to see that side of Adam more than was necessary. Before either could say anything more, Jean stepped forward a bit timidly. "Excuse me, your Highness," He said and Adam turned his attention to him. "I need to know if my wife and son are okay."

Adam smiled. "They are more than okay." He answered. "They are rejoicing with the rest of my staff and are anticipating seeing you once again." Jean's face broke out into a smile and Belle felt her heart swell at the sight of Adam interacting with his people. "But for now, my staff wants to celebrate the young woman who gave them their lives back."

He offered Belle his arm and she gladly took it, allowing him to lead her to his horse. He smiled as she climbed on without any assistance. His Belle was unlike any other. Maurice came up and she leaned down to kiss his cheek. "I'll be back soon, Papa." She promised.

"Take all the time you want. I'll be waiting to hear all about it." He responded. He turned to the prince and held out his hand. "Take care of her."

Adam shook the older man's hand, knowing it was him giving them his blessing. "I'll make sure she wants for nothing for the rest of her life, you as well." Maurice smiled and Adam climbed onto the horse behind Belle. He leaned down and kissed her cheek, feeling it heat up under his touch. "I never thought I would find anyone like you."

She smiled at him. "I never thought I would live out one of my stories." She placed her hands over his on the reins. "Now to our happily ever after?"

He let out a laugh, kissing her forehead and felt her rest against him. "It's an ending better than Romeo & Juliet." Belle gaped and lightly slapped his arm. He laughed again and snapped the reins to urge the horse into a trot, heading towards the castle.

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 **Okay. I'm gonna be completely honest… I don't know how to feel about this ending. I knew how I wanted to start but had absolutely no idea of how to end it and so… this is what happened. I'm not exceptionally proud of it but maybe you guys see it a different way. Please R &R and I will see you next time!**

 **Quote of the Day: "Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind/And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind" – William Shakespeare (recognize the quote anyone?)**

 **Song suggestion: Wanted – Hunter Hayes**


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